>> 98,000 have signed on to a campaign calling for a federal law to be established that if a parent doesn't alert police of a child's disappearance, that parent would be guilty of a felony. this just started about 24 hours ago, and 98,000 people have signed on to it. and thanks for joining pups us. a republican is blasting the decision to bring a terrorist overseas to the u.s. for a civilian trial. plus, casey anthony could walk free tomorrow. but she'll be dogged by at least one new lawsuit and the hate of many americans. we'll talk about what's next after her bombshell acquittal in the beth death of her daughter. and a top british tabloid is paying a price amid new allegations that its journalists

hacked people's phone messages. wolf blitzer is off. i'm candy crowley and you're in "the situation room." new controversy about terrorists in yemen. at issue, a so malian suspect who is now in new york, facing charges in a civilian court. that's a threat to national security. we want to go to our pentagon correspondent, chris lawrence. chris? >> candy this really goes to the fundamental question of what will the obama administration do with the terrorists that it captures. the president has closed the secret cia prisons around the world, but he doesn't want to send more people to tribunal

funerals in guantanamo bay. this middle ground appears to be interrogation onboard u.s. navy ships at sea. in bril, the u.s. military captures a somali citizen. u.s. officials say he's brought onboard a navy warship where intelligence officers give subject maed matter guidance to the military interrogators who question him. when they finish, the fbi steps in and starts over. to get information in a way that can be used in court. the suspect is then brought to new york. two months too late, if you ask the aclu. >> it was unnecessary, it was unwise and it was unlawful. >> but it was useful, if you believe u.s. officials. they say ahmed abdul warsame gave up useful intelligence.

he was looking to become more operati operational. >> this is a somalian terrorist, captured overseas, has now been read his miranda rights. why? why? why is a man who's a known terrorist, an enemy of the united states, being afforded the protections of an american citizen. >> but democrats call the republican charge hypocrite call, considering more than 400 suspected terrorists have been tried in federal court, most under president george w. bush. >> that's right, convicted terrorist, convicted in criminal court, now serving time in prisons across america, including my home state of illinois. so to argue that we can't successfully try a terrorist in united states is to ignore reality. >> he pled not guilty in his

arrangement, but the chairman of the house of intelligence committee says even if he's eventually convicted, it just exposes a radical enemy combatant to a wider audience here in the american prison system. >> let me go back to the part about the ship. how long do military commanders think they can keep someone onboard a ship. obviously they're doing it on orders, but nonetheless, how long are they allowed to keep someone on a ship to interrogate them? >> they say it's on a face by case basis. they say name they're doing operations outside the main military theatres it becomes extremely difficult for them in terms of the rules and regulations. they say they have to figure out whether they can hold somebody and eventually put them into the u.s., or if they need to transfer them to a third party country. he says barring those two

options, the only other option left to them is to release them. obviously the military commander said that's the least attractive option. >> nampg so much. -- thanks so much. >> regrouping after the death of osama bin laden. cnn is with u.s. troop and local forces along afghanistan's border. >> americaning pushing the afghans to the front, taking the high ground into the hills. the pressure for less americans here is extreme, but the afghans only mustered five men for this patrol. >> when you shoot it's got to be five to seven-round bursts. >> and despite this training, are barely up to policing the local villages. let alone taking on the very

terrorist network america came here to eradicate. american control does not extend up into the valley. >> u.s. and afghan officials say they located here al qaeda fighters, using the secluded also fine villages for training and planning. many taliban, several of them arabs linked to al qaeda, damaging their network. yet the clashes reveal al qaeda said mostly to be across the border in pakistan is again a concern, back where they started in afghanistan's hills. we push down into the valley,

still an insurgent strong hold. high tech american attack helicopters buzzed overyaed until militants shot from them from the valley. >> it's uncharacteristic from the taliban. they're getting pretty gutsy. if you push up any farther past that, you're going to take enemy contact, that's pretty certain. >> the afghans clear about who lay in wait ahead of them. >>. >> translator: it's very draws, taliban, arabs, pakistanis there. >> at the foot of valley, the american base is often hit by pot shots, sometimes from lone gunmen up high who they then mortar. >> al qaeda's return to these remote hills could tie america's hands, making it harder to justify pulling back from here. the terrorist network that made america's case for invading slipping back in, just when

america makes its case to leave. president obama is urging congressional negotiators to be open mined when he sits down with them at the white house tomorrow. he spoke about the standoff today during a town hall event, featuring questions posted on twitter. members of both parties are staring down an august 2 deadline or face consequences for the u.s. economy. >> the debt ceiling should not be something that is used as a gun against the heads of the american people to extract tax breaks for corporate jet owners or ail and gas companies that are making billions of dollars because the price of gasoline has gone up so high. i'm happy to have those debates with. i think the american people are on my side on this.

what we need to do is to have a balanced air proech where everything is on the table. >> well, everybody is going to have to contribute to it one way or soot. we have debt as big as our economy. we look a lot like greece already. it's going to have to have broad impact on every aspect of our socie society. >> let's bring in jessica yellin. what are your sources telling you about tomorrow's meeting. >> the goal is to jump start this process until the u.s. hits the debt ceiling. all sides i speak to are hopeful they'll get a deal accomplished. they want to discuss true specifics and set up hopefully a process, probably with smaller meetings in the coming days and

weeks to solve this once and far all. the positions remain the same -- republicans want to cut spending an equal amount to the amount that the debt ceiling will be raised. democrats are insistant that must be paired with tax increases, call it what you will. people close to the negotiations are telling me today that they now like the y canned of a bigger deal, a dpeel between $3 trillion to $4 trillion. now, that's a pretty surprising change, because just a week ago, right here in the white house, the president held a press conference talking about the difficulty getting to a $2 trillion deal. why the possibility of something bigger? well, some democrats close to negotiations say something bigger, wild it would include pain for all sides would include more of what each side would

like. they could go home saying they've done something. clearly there's a lot of politics. big expectations being set up here, and another possibility being set out there so they could compromise probably for the smaller option that they've been discussing for all these many weeks, candy. >> we have been hearing people talk about medicare, cuts for the wealthy. they would have to pay more, get less out, that kind of thing. it strikes me that would very much change the dynamic for 2012. >> such a good question. that would change how hospitals and the like are reimbursed. democrats have been running ads against some republicans over what we call the ryan budget. the proposal by the house republican to dramatically

change how medicare is structured. they're saying republicans want to end your medicare in the april environment. this is going to be an issue democrats want to use going into 2012. as part of this deal, democrats are also going to vote to alter medicare, that clearly diminishes the pain that republicans would feel over this issue. whatever is included in this package would not equal the ryan budget, but it would diminish this as an issue for 2012 and make it harder for democrats. >> our chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin, thank you. she's arguably america's most famous defendant right now. casey anthony is due back in court tomorrow. we're looking at her sentencing and whether she'll walk free after being found not guilty of murdering her daughter. and why the obama administration

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you save. >> hi. i'm jack cafferty. if we default on the debt ceiling, the economy could get its legs knocked right out from under it. leaders in the house and senate will talk to the president and see if they can reach an agreement. good luck. nothing much has changed. republicans want spending cut, huge ones. no tax increases.

democrats want to avoid big cuts to social programs. they want to get rid of tax breaks for wealthier americans. there's no reason to expect that one side or the other is going to say you know what? you're right. let's do it your way. that won't happen. and to complicate matters furtherer, there's now a growing group of senate and house republican kwhos say their vote to increase the debt ceiling would be contingent on caps on federal spending and the passage of a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget every year. that may sound good, but it would be an uphill slog, amending the constitution, you need a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of congress. that means they would still need 20 votes from democrats. and even if it passed congress, the measure then has to be ratified by three fourths of the state legislatures. that could take a long time. the senate and house versions of this proposed legislation require a balanced budget, beginning in 2018. both also mandate how it must be

done. federal spending would be capped at 18% of gross domestic product. that spells major, major cuts. and two thirds of congress would have to vote to approve any tax increase. that may be difficult math to do down the road. and once again, they're talking down the road. 2018. here's the question, is a balanced budget amendment to the constitution a good idea? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile to post a comment on my blog. might be a good idea if they paid any more attention to that than they do the rest of the constitution. >> i'll be interested in your answers. in general, people say well, yeah, we should have a balanced budget. but it's actually a trickier question than it seems. >> it is. but people are increasingly fed up for lack of any sort of fiscal responsibility in washington.

>> casey anthony was subpoenaed last night by a woman suing her for definition. four counts of lying to police for caylee's disappearance, but she could walk thrfree when she sentenced tomorrow. when she comes back to court tomorr tomorrow, what are we going to see? >> the defense is going to ask that she be alloweded to go free, go home tomorrow. the prosecution is going to make their recommendation as to which or what sentence the prosecution thinks is appropriate. ultimately, it's up to the judge to determine her sentence. now, she has some exposure here. she's looking up to four years

in prison because she was convicted of four counts of lying to a law enforcement officer. and i have to say, so many people are saying she's going to be a free woman tomorrow. i don't know. this is the same judge that sentenced matthew bartlett, the young man who flipped the bird at the prosecutor in this case, to six days in county jail. even on his birthday. and so i would imagine after having listened to this entire case and the recommendations of both parties, this judge could very well sentence her to four years in prison. that still leaves her maybe a year in prison. so we may not see her go free tomorrow. >> i guess if she's free, she's free. do we know anything about where she would go? >> well, we know from her attorney, cheney play son that she will not be going home. to the anthony home. we have a statement that usually

they would release a jury-ry quitted inmate from the courthouse under normal circumstances. we see that a lot in movies. people are just let free and they walk down the courthouse steps. but in this case, they say because of the high profile nature in this case and intention emotional interest by the public, in a way that's stort of secretive to preserve the safety of casey anthony and the public. if she is released tomorrow, we won't know where she's going, candy. >> i want to read you something. we finally did hear from one of the jurors about why they didn't speak to the media. this was juror number three who abc identified as jennifer ford. she said this in an exclusive interview to abc. we were stick to our stomach to get that verdict. we were crying, not just the women. it was emotional and we weren't ready. we wanted to do it with integrity and not contribute to the sensationalism of the trial. i did not say she was innocent. i just said there was not enough

evidence. if you can not prove what the crime was, you can not determine what the punishment should be. it sounds to me they got hung up on how did this child die. >> it does seem that way. i've been saying all along, not guilty verdict is just that, not guilty of the charges. it doesn't mean that someone is innocent. it's clear this jury heard the same evidence that we heard. and so why while they may have believed something criminal happened, they clearly believed the prosecution did not meet its burden. and that burden is very high. as you know, it's beyond a reasonable doubt. t people have interviewed jeff ashton. i'm going to speak to him tomorrow. and absolutely, it's a very high burden. i'm sure these jurors did not just reach this decision arbitrarily. >> thank you so much. i'm sure we'll be talking about this for several days to come, thanks.

>> a violent outburst in afghanistan's parliament. a fight breaks out between two female lawmakers. we'll show you exactly what happened. and a pilot with a major emergency on his hands contacts air traffic controllers. hear the audio tape of their intense conversation next. igure. i want to focus on innovation. but my data is doubling. my servers are maxed out. i need to think about something else when i run. [ male announcer ] with efficient i.t. solutions from dell, doug can shift up to 50% of his company's technology spend from operating costs to innovation. so his company runs better, and so does doug. dell. the power to do more. so his company runs better, and so does doug. it's actually a connecting rod coming out to the side of the block this is a big piece of the engine block that was blown off. it's not because they ran it out of oil. they didn't change the oil. as your engine produces different particulants, you want to pick that up and take it down to the oil pan to the oil filter. so the moral of the story is, if you don't want to see your

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>> mary snow is monitoring other top situations including whitey bulger back in court this afternoon. >> reputed mobster james whitey bulger pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, including allegations he took part in 19 murders. prosecutors say the 81-year-old headed up the south boston irish gang before fleeing a racketeering indictment in 1995. he was on the run for 16 years before he was apertured last month in california. newly released faa recordings show a dramatic exchange. the pilot of flight 812 put the plane into a rapid descent when

a huge hole appeared in the fuselage.scending -- >> probably going to turn around and go back to phoenix. >> yuma was closer so he landed there. no one was hurt. an initial investigation blames metal fatigue for the fuselage hole. now a sight you don't see often. two women in an allout brawl in afghanistan's parliament. one lawmaker threw her shoe. the other threw a water battle. >> we thought the fighting in washington was bad. >> wow. this's something you don't see every day. >> a mexican man convicted of rape and murder is about to be executing in texas, but obama administration says that could put many americans in danger. and are prosecutors any closer

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>> terrorists are zeroing in on frightening strategy to blow up planes. we'll tell you what it is and how the u.s. is responding to the threat. a hacking scandal involving a major british tabloid grows deeper.

and we'll have the tweets and the president's answers here in the situation room. >> a mex man man is scheduled to be executed for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl. but the obama administration wants that execution put on hold. >> this is a case of one murderer from mexico, but if texas governor rick perry doesn't stop it by tomorrow, thursday, only the supreme court could be able to delay it. and what happens could have implications for americans arrested in other countries.

>> mexican citizen 38-year-old umberto garcia jr. was convicted in texas of a 1994 murder and sentenced to death. but there's a hatch. when he was arrested, local police did not inform him he had the right under an international treaty signed by the u.s. years ago to be visited by consular officials. if he had, his lawyers claim, he might never have been convicted. now those lawyers are asking the u.s. supreme court to delay his excuse and decide a broader legal question -- what rights do death row inmates from other nations deserve? the obama administration argues americans arrested abroad could be hurt if states don't respect the treaty. >> we could face reciprocal denial of access for our consular officials when american citizens find themselves

arrested or detained overseas. >> i was arrested in 1970 at the airport. >> billy hayes had his story made into a movie. he was arrested on a drug smuggling charge. >> i hope that americans realize that you did not grant him the rights that he's guaranteed, and it threatens the rights of other americans who might travel in foreign countries. >> hayes is not alone. the state department says more than 3600 u.s. citizens were arrested abroad in fiscal year 2010. but texas is adamant no foreign court or u.s. president could tell a state how to conduct its legal proceedings. >> they've been been tried and

convicted, they are a vicious, child rapist and murderer, should you come in and set aside that conviction? >> now, there is a bill pending in congress that could change the equation. and that bill would give federal courts the right to hear appeals from the death row inmates from other countries and also give them the right to enforce that international treaty that gives such people the right to meet with their council from their embassies. >> thanks, jill. prosecutors in new york say they're not ready to drop assault and attempted rape charge against dominique strauss kahn. they met today with lawyers from the head of the international monetary fund. the case against strauss kahn is in doubt after questions were raised about his accuser's credibility. what's gone wrong with this case? >> legal analysts say prosecutors are looking for ways

to salvage the case. after learning the allegationed vick till wasn't truthful about her fast and her whereabouts immediately after the alleged attack. former prosecutors on the outside looking in say whatever the outcome, there is damage way beyond this case. >> former imf chief dominique strusz kahn now moves freely around new york. it was a dramatic shift from when he was arrested two months ago and spent several days on rieker's island. and there was questions about the maid who alleged strauss kahn sexually attacked her as she tried to clean his suite. for starters, the defense attorney said he was surprised by the move to indict so quickly. >> you could have gone to the defense attorney and said we're looking to charge your client. however, if you agree to keep him in the country under house awe rest for a period of a week while we investigate the case, we won't proceed.

>> prosecutors had fife days to indict him or they would have had to set him free, and they didn't want a repeat of what happened with movie director roman polanski who fled to europe after pleading guilty to having sex with a minor. the former head of the sex crimes unit said while there are hard lessons learned, she doesn't find fault with the way the case is handled. >> seemed like they had a credible witness, believed by co-workers, police, medical personnel and social workers. they found her very credible and supported by forensic evidence. and they were in the unique circumstance of having a foreign national who could leave the country and go to a country that has no extradition agreement with us. the d.a. could have faced

criticism if straus kahn fled the u.s., but says regardless there is damage. >> i think in the end, strauss-kahn's case is dismi dismissed, i think the hopes of a lot of people who thought this case would be an example of how a democracy brings even a rich man to justice on the charges of a very poor woman, that sort of view, very flavorable view of our system has now been destroyed. >> he says, though, on the other hand, the fact that the credibility issues did come to light proves the system does work. but this case will probably have a chilling effect on some rape victims who may now be afraid to report a case. and she says sadly for some period of time, prosecutors will likely look with distrust on victims coming in. candy? >> thanks so much, mary. as they're now being yanked from a british tabloid, accused of hijacking the phone messages of politicians, celebrities and even crime victims.

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republicans are about to blast the airwaves with a new ad blaming president obama for the bad economy. here to weigh in on that in today's strategy session, cnn political analyst roland martin and david frum who alsos heads up from forum.com. thank you, gentlemen. let me just give you and our viewers a little taste of this add to come. >> left turn after left turn. america is headed the wrong way fast. 6 million foreclosures, 14 trillion in debt, $500 billion in higher taxes, and the worst long-term unemployment in generations. don't let obama drive us to disaster, change direction. >> okay, that's an ad, but let me put up some factoids here. january 2009, when the president took office unemployment was 7.6%. now 9.1. black unemployment, 12.8% when he took office, 16.2% now.

national debt was $10.6 trillion when he took office. $14.3 trillion now. all of which is to say, is he pretty vulnerable here when he comes to these economic statistics? >> obviously when you look at 192, george bush, 97% approval rating. a year later, he was packing. one of the issues you hear democrats lay out is that you can say the unemployment rate had gone up, we lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008, 500,000 in december alone. and then you saw that frankly stop and you saw an incremental increase, if you will, in jobs being added. you can dance around it, but obviously the economy is going to be the critical issue. he said himself in 2009, i will be judged on reelection, based upon the economy. >> he's super vulnerable. this is the worst recovery from the 1930 pz .much of what we remember as the great depression was an economic number, at least according to the numbers but not according to the experience of people. this president does seem to have

run out of ideas, sometime back in '09. and although he did very grudgingly and belatedly add a payroll tax cut as part 2010 extension of the bush income tax cut, even then it was small, it was late and of course, all of that was instantly devoured by the increase in energy prices. so people aren't better off. i don't think the president has made it worse, but he hasn't made it better. >> republicans will say the president, you haven't done enough for the economy, but when they will turn right around and say government can't add jobs. so you're left with the question -- one second. you're left with the question, okay, so which is it? is so therefore, what role does government actually have? this recession we've been in is far different than any one we've been in before. >> there are things he could have done. we need a much -- still, much more stimulative monetary policy. >> not going to pass.

>> kit pass, the federal reserve can do it if president obama had not left seats vacant on the federal reserve. people say the republicans obstructed him, i guess you're saying when you say that, the job is too hard for you. >> david, you wrote in your latest column on -- your latest column for cnn, we'll put up a full screen here, obama has played nice again and again in treating his republican opponents to emulate his example and play nice too? why don't the democrats rebel? presumably obama is not standing up, he's rolling over or being rolled. so are you suggest iing that th president get tougher? >> i don't agree with his agenda, but we're playing with this dwet kreeling with the financial similarity of nuclear weapons. the republicans believe the if the will cave because he so

often does. if he's not going to cave, he has to signal that. nothing, nothing is more dangerous than suggesting you going to cave, inviting people to push you and push you and then saying now i'm ready to fight. and at that point, there's so much momentum, over we all go. >> the fact is even democrats were afraid he was going to cave when he got involved in the debt ceiling. they're still afraid he's going to do that. why hasn't he pushed republicans harder? >> because first of all, they base that upon what we saw when it came to the tax inkress where you get the compromise in december. the nature of this president is not to get involved in what he considers to be the typical d.c. bickering back and forth. even in the campaign, he sort of operated, sort of above all that. during the campaign, people were saying when are you going to get tougher with senator hillary clinton. he said look, i'm playing this my way. and then before the inaugurat n inauguration, guess who was the one being inauguratinged? this is who he is.

he simply does not like to play partisan back and forth. >> you don't get to play the way you like to play. you play the way you need to play in order to succeed. the republicans have behaved really irresponsibly here with the debt ceiling but he's moved the country ter fieingly close to the financial brink. >> he hasn't caved yet, we don't know what he's going to do. i'm sure we'll have lots to talk about further on down the line. >> thank you so much. >> the city of phoenix, swamped by a monster dust storm. the pictures are amazing. could there be another one tonight? and casey anthony won't go to prison for the death of her daughter. so what will her future be like? ahead, how she could pay and how she could profit. [ female announcer ] the healing power of touch

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>> just two more days until the end of an era in america's space program. that's when atlantis is scheduled to launch the final shuttle mission. we are counting down to that historic event. and joe johns is here to help us go in depth. joe? >> the magic wall tells a story

here. it's hard to believe this is the last mission of the shuttle. it's called sts-135. sts stands for space transportation system. i never knew that. laumpl date, of course, july 8, 2011. that could mean another time simply because we're hearing there are weather problems down at the cape. 12 days it's supposed to last and this is the crew. they have very interesting and very rayed backgrounds, including chris ferguson, the commander. he is a former top gun pilot. sandy magnus also has a very interesting background as well. she's a stealth engineer, former stealth engineer for mcdonald douglas. now, we just want to show you one of the coolest graphics loaded on the magic wall in a long time. distance traveled by each shuttle over the years, over the duration of the space program. as you can see, discovery had

the longest duration, 148 million miles traveled. after that, atlantis, 124 million. and then columbia, and endeavor are pretty much tied, around 122 million a piece. of course, challenger traveled the least miles. 27 million, ended up in the tragic crash in 1986. one other point, atlantis has not finished its work yet. we don't know how many miles it will travel. it's pretty clear to say it's not going to travel 24 million miles in one trip. looking forward to the launch. we will see if the weather holds out. back to you. >> i feel sad about this. stay with us to follow nasa's 135th and final shuttle mission. our coverage begins friday morning at 10:00 eastern here on cnn. jack joins us with the cafferty file. i hope friday you have a shuttle

question, but today we are talking debt. >> i'm sad about it too. it sort of seems symptomatic about what's going on around the landscape. the question this hour, is a balanced budget amendment to the consdugztitution a good idea. giant corporations cannot run with solely cash on hand. putting in the constitution may sound like a good idea, but it ties our hands when we can least afford it. >> james writes no. leave the constitution alone. not too many folks are following it as it is these days. more amendments would likely not do much good. a balanced budget amendment is not a good idea. the federal government has to make room for wars, recessions, bailouts and such. >> annie said no, the last thing we need is more political gains that this type of amendment

would increase. speak for myself, i'm sick of the games. the hostage taking and the terrorism and border line or full on treason for political gain. keith writes yes, it's a good idea, but what makes you think it will do any good they are disregarding or trashing the constitution now. adding the amendment will not fix congress or administration. they regard the constitution of something that was appropriate 200 years ago. they have better ideas about what is best for us now. nice try, jack. alan writes the language in the proposed amendment is a recipe for physical gridlock worse than the current situation. take out the super majority required to raise taxes and the 18% cap on the budget and make it a clone proposal and maybe there is something to talk about. donald said sure, jack. as long as there plenty of loopholes for the rich and the corporations and all the special interest groups wouldn't want to put a burden on

the top 2 percenters. if you want to read more, go to my blog. >> mostly nos? >> a little of this, a little of that. it's not a black or white question because of the contingencies and the conditions under which it would work. you get all kinds of answers based on what people see as a workable solution or not. >> also i think people look at so much through a political prism and that's so much of washington that is played out. looks like another gimmick. >> it does. one of the reasons is every time they look at washington it's like looking at rush more. nothing moves they are saying let's amend the constitution and do something to make some things begin to move and to happen. >> always fun to talk to you, jack. >> terrorists are blowing up planes may be focusing on a

frightening strategy. the story is coming up. a huge dust storm envelopes parts of arizona. those amazing pictures are next.

. >> here's a look at the hot shots. a man is tossed in the air at a celebration of a festival. thousands of people pack the streets for the running of the bulls. children gathering in india to celebrate the dalai lama's 76th birthday. two men check out a car at a motor show in moscow. in south korea, crowds celebrate their country to host the 2018 winter olympics. hot shots, pictures from around the world. it may have looked like a scene in a movie, but it was a massive dust storm that ripped through parts of arizona, turning day into night in an instant. severe weather expert chad meyers has the astonishing pictures. >> it was an amazing scene. thunderstorms developed east of phoenix and moved through the city. with wind gusts of 70 miles per hour, it picked up dust and this

is what it looked like. this is time lapse video from an i reporter. you can see on the horizon, you can't see the thunder and the dust cloud comes at you. eventually people were breathing this stuff and driving through and every air filter needs to be cleaned if you were driving through if any length of time. the waste of gas with the dust in there. it was in the pools and in your ears and in the pets. it's everywhere. the winds are going to gust tonight, but i believe you heard asking could it happen tonight. it was have vegas to the inland empire of california. probably not in phoenix. it did put down some rain and the rain settled the dust. even if wind comes, maybe it won't be so light. >> is this something you see coming? how does it all look like there

was this huge dust storm in. >> you don't see it coming. what happened was two storms, from here and from here collided and the wind caming e ing cami and the ground picked up the dust and threw it into the air. sky harbor airport had to be shut down because there is no way you fly a plane through that. >> not as though there conditions ripe for it. in tornados, you know because the climate is set for it. this just happens? >> it does happen. probably three to five times a year in the desert like this, but the extent and the depth of this, this is almost 1,000 feet tall. this is one of the bigger ones that many people who lived in the valley for a long time remember. i have been getting a lot of swe tweets saying this was a big one. the dust is everywhere. my pool is muddy. if you can believe that.

>> i can believe it because i have seen the pictures too. unbelievable. thank you so much. appreciate it. here in "the situation room," happening now, airlines are warned of the next big threat. terrorists with bombs surgically implanted in their bodies. we are digging deeper. the phone hacking of crime victims is rocking a media empire and the top levels of the british government. it started with celebrities and we will hear from an angry actor, hugh grant. casey anthony may have been acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges, but if he goes free, will taxpayers still have to pay to keep her? welcome to the viewers in the united states and around the world. headlines and jeannie moos is straight ahead. i'm candy crowley and you are in "the situation room". >> we begin with word of a

potential new threat to air travel. first there was the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber. there plots that failed at the last moment and a more frightening tactic that the terrorists are trying to adopt and turn their own bodies into bombs. brian todd is looking into this. when you think what next, you learn >> that's right. terrorist groups may try to do this by implanting bombs in attacker's bodies it is a chilling tactic with scanners and other sophisticated technology. >> u.s. security officials told us of a chilling tactic terrorists might try next. targeting aircraft by surgically implanting explosive or bomb components in the bodies of attackers >> we see this as the latest evolution of what terrorist groups are trying to do to

cirque comvent the norms. >> fresh intelligents say they have a renewed interests in planting bombs, but no specific or imminent threat. a man suspected of involvement is bomb-making mastermind for al qaeda. he is believed to have planned the 2009 plot to kill saudi arabia's minster by placing a bomb in the rectal cavity or underwear of his own brother. his brother was killed, but the minster escaped. i asked israel's top aviation security official about surgically implanted bombs >> what are does it tell you about the way they are right now? >> we have exhausted the capabilities of the technology available to us. no way we can take the next step after the body scanners to figure out when a person carries out and carries a device in his body. >> they're say the full body scanners which we once tested

can see through clothes and find prosthesis, breast implants and contours and cannot detect the bombs in their body. the chief trauma surgeon about how terrorists might try to pull this off. >> do you need a hospital or can you do it in a terrorist field camp. what kind of training do you need? >> the fundamental question is how well do you want to do it? if you top the do it to 20 people and have 19 die, that will be easier. you can do that sloppy. if you wanted to do it well and expect them to remain sterile and not cause infection. they are going to be talking about a hospital or a clinic setting. >> the doctor said explosives could be implanted in the abdomen or elsewhere or a prosthetic device like a fake hip or breast implant. a non-sophisticated plant lasts days, but if it's in a hospital

or something, if it's in there and done in a hospital, it could last weeks, months or longer if it's done in a hospital or the implant is sophisticated with a casing around it. >> i can't believe i'm asking these questions, but how would you detonate a in your and second, the fact that it's inside your body blunt the force of the explosion? >> there debates over both points. some say you would need a chemical injected with a syringe to detonate it. others say it could be ignited on a timer. that's a bit of a debate. on the impact, some say yes, the body would blunt the impact and it did that in the saudi case and couldn't bring down an airliner, but it only takes a few grams to puncture the fuselage of a jetliner and if they have more than a few grams which is possible, yes, maybe with the explosive, you can bring down the aircraft >> thanks so much.

appreciate the information. >> this all started with celebrities, but now outrage over the phone hacking of crime victims is rocking a media empire and reaching into the top levels of the british government. at the center of the scandal, britain's biggest tabloid. news the world. they call the alleged hacking a murder and terrorist victim absolutely disgusting and they have broken his silence, calling the allegations deplorable and unacceptable. richard, first of all what is the newspaper allegedly, what did they get ahold of. what kind of conversations and how did they do it. >> indeed it's proven in many cases. they hacked into the voice mails of royalty, prince william and celebrities like miller and politicians like the former deputy prime ministers alleged.

now in a disgusting turn of events, it's revealed earlier back in 2002, they hacked into the voice mail of a murdered girl into her mobile phone while police were looking for her. not only that, they erased messages from that of people looking for her. they wanted to make room for more messages it gets worse. the bomb bursts in london, they are said to have hacked into voice mail messages of parents of bomb victims. and more evidence that the news of the world is been paying police for tips you get a picture of a newspaper that is out of control. >> i know hugh grant fits into the totality of the story. what's his role here? >> well, he said obviously we

oh, him for his own grudges with the law and the united states. he said he has been hacked by the newspaper. this is what we can talk about in a second. he said he has been hacked by the tabloids and he is furious about it. time to do something about it and he went on his own personal crusade to actually find out how bad it was and what needs to be done. >> just personal grievance because i was a victim of hacking and i had this extraordinary piece of luck from the news of the world itself and the unlikely scenario where my car broke down. anyway, he started boasting about the sinister relationship

with the metropolitan police and the prime minister. i thought it was all fascinating and utterly repulsive. subsequently i went back to see him. he runs a pub in dover and i dropped in for a pound and a check and bugged him back. i was wearing it and i published it all in a british paper with the new statesman. that was the beginning of my obsession with this and my outrage. it's one thing for there to be a bad newspaper in the country. when you start to analyze it's not one, but all the tabloids that have been out of control for a long time. when you realize how much colosing there has been from the police and how much has been from the lawmakers and the government who need these tabloids and especially the press to get elected you still have to think i'm not proud of my country. this is not the democracy i

thought i was proud of. >> what happens here? what started off as a sleazy scandal of celebrity has now turned into something more serious and deeper and sinister and unpleasant. >> listening to that portion of the interview, broader than news of the world as far as hugh grant is concerned. me about news of the world. is it a major paper in the uk? >> this is the biggest selling newspaper, english sunday newspaper in the world. it sells millions of copies. 7.5 million people read it. it's a vast empire and money spinning. lots of stories. i can't -- some of the pages, you get the idea. exclusive status. i love her. loads and loads of stories of

celebrity gossip and exactly the sort of -- i suppose rumor that people, myself included do love to read you like to see what's going on in the world, but the way they got their stories, the fact that senior editors, top editors doesn't ask about where the stories were coming from or did f they did know, they turned a blind eye and that is why this super tonight is being seen as the cancer on journalism. >> is it a trusted newspaper? we have those that are here, but not trusted. >> the fascinating part of the news of the world is that yes, by and large, they had spectacular blow ups and cases and the slander cases where they have it belong. by and large, their fact check suggest good and the sources are excellent. they have been hacking into the phones of people.

they know it's true what they are reporting in most cases yes. if it's in the news of the world, there is a fair bet, a fair good chance of what they are reporting that is accurate even though you can question whether it's in the public domain or whether the public really has a right to know who is sleeping with whom. >> thanks so much. >> up next, mitt romney and the white house in a verbal tit for tat. why would president obama's team engage the candidate now? i will ask dan pfiefer. outrage over the casey anthony verdict. we will go live where the former defendant could be released tomorrow. plus, the unexpected discovery that cracked a cold case wide open and led to an arrest after more than a half century. [ mal] this...is the network -- a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience

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. jack cafferty is back here with the cafferty file take two. jack? >> something to wrap your mind around. the leading british scientist said the first person who will live to be 150 years old has been born. the chief scientist of a foundation dedicated to longevity thinks the first person to live to be 1,000 years old could be born in the next two days. 1,000. he made these comments in an interview with britain's academy of science so far the longest living person in the world on record lived to be 122. the doctor said we have a "50-50 chance of bringing aging under

medical control within the next 25 years." he thinks aging is nothing more than the o cumulation of molecular is cellular damage in the body in our lifetime and doctors will undo the damage we will go in for a maintenance like the car in now for a tune up. the visits include gene therapy, stem cell therapies and immune stimulation. he does have critics. in 2005, the technology review journal offered $20,000 to a biologist who can prove his theories were so wrong they were not worthy of debate. here's a question. would you want to live to be 150 years old or maybe even older? go to cnn.com/cafferty file and post a comment i think i already have. >> that's not so. >> some days it feels like it. >> a healthy 150 is one thing.

>> that's the key. i don't want to be cleaning the oatmeal off my sweater. >> end of the conversation here. thanks, jack. we will be back with you. sentencing tomorrow for casey anthony who is expected to be released after being found not guilty of murdering her two-year-old daughter. a verdict that sparked widespread outrage. martin savage is in florida for us. what is the latest there? >> reporter: ever since that verdict came down, emotions have been running very, very high. that was true yesterday and still true today. as a result of that, orange county and the sheriff's department has been forced to take extraordinary security measures. they want to make sure that nothing, absolutely nothing interferes with the sentencing tomorrow. >> first came the shock. >> what? not guilty? >> then the outrage. >> justice for caylee. justice for caylee!

>> it quickly spread. >> we have been o.j.ed. this is the first thing to happen to florida since the hanging chads. >> one of the pinnacles of american democracy, the focus of scorn and ridicule. >> don't get angry with the jurors. we need jurors and people who are willing to do their civic duty and spend time in there. their perspective is so much different than everyone else's. the judge looks them in the eyes and tells them this is the law you have to follow. >> ever since the verdict was read, authors have been grappling with the backlash. >> please, i ask this community that regardless of one's personal beliefs about the innocence or guilt of casey marie anthony, they are to maintain your peaceful resolve. >> as a precaution tuesday night, restricted traffic into the neighborhood near the anthony home and the site where

the body was found. it's one more expense for the taxpayer who is have been footing the bill for years of investigation, court hearings and trial. court do you means reveal just the housing, feeding and transportation of jurors cost nearly $285,000. if casey goes free tomorrow, the cost will continue as authorities say due to the high profile nature of the case and intense emotional interest, they have to give anthony additional security, announcing appropriate measures will be taken to release the acquitted into the community in such a manner so as to preserve the safety of the acquitted individual and the public. >> all eyes will be focused tomorrow morning starting at 9:00 a.m. on the 23 order floor of the justice center here for orange county in the courtroom of judge belvin perry as they wait to hear what his sentencing will be for the four counts. remember they are misdemeanors.

the max for each would only be about 364 days and she already served time. i won't go into the complicated explanation, but the reality is she could walk out of there free tomorrow. candy? >> martin, we can expect right after the verdict there will be a lot of emotions on the street because the trial attracted so much attention. have you seen any signs that it has died down? a lot of people are saying listen, justice requires the jury system. this is the verdict of the jury. accept it. have you seen sign that is it died down at all? >> you certainly don't see the throngs of people today. what was interesting that there were tickets made available to the public so they can go in and witness the sentencing. very few tickets and people showed up to claim the tickets. that's an indication that perhaps sentiment is trailing off, but what added was the silence from the jurors. people wanted to know how you

came to this. we are beginning to hear from alternate jurors or jurors themselves. it may dissipate, but people are angry to people feeling very bad about what happened. >> thanks, marty. the murder of a little girl shatters a small town, but it's more than 50 years later and an unexpected break in the cold case. plus, a deadly attack in one of the most popular parks a tourist killed by a grizzly bear. woman: saving for our child's college fund was getting expensive.

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. tragedy at a premare national park. mary, what have you got? >> we are getting word that a visitor to yellowstone was killed by a grizzly bear today. the first such death in 25 years. park officials a say man hiking was attacked and killed by a mother bear. the army major accused of killing 13 people in the ft. hood massacre could face the death penalty. he announced that the charges against the major will be tried

as capital offenses at his court-martial. the last military execution was 50 years ago. he was shot by police in the rampage and is partially paralyzed. celebrations across south korea. it has been picked to host the first ever winter olympics. the city was picked over finalists and france. the slogan for the games is new horizons president was on hand as the announcement was made in south africa. facebook is teaming up with skype to bring video cha the to the popular social networking site. it goes live to million was accounts today and more will be added overtime. the ceo made the announcement in san francisco. cnn was not allowed to bring our own camera into the event. this was shot using facebook's camera without any cnn video presence. early reviews by bloggers say

they were under wellmed by the news. >> i don't get it. we will have to go on and see. if you use skype and go on facebook, we will figure it out when we get online. thanks, mary. the first twitter town hall, the president gets questions of 140 characters or less, including some from his republican rivals. the president wants a big deal on the deficit and the debt ceiling, but what if there is no deals at all? i will speak with dan pfiefer. mid-romney is the front-runner, but should he watch his back? a

are. >> a few generations ago, americans sat and listened to fdr's fire side chats. you can watch the period from your living room.

now president obama who campaigned for office used the first twitter town hall. he took questions from followers and his rival. a whole new ball game. >> some people criticized as a gimmick and a chance to control the message. even before it began, you heart from republicans who were attacks the president, but this was a good way for the president to reach out to americans beyond washington. the twitter questions came in 140 characters or less. the answers from the president did not. >> i am supposed to be short. >> before he could talk about what he has done or hopes to do, he has to answer about what he would do-over on the recession. >> one would have been to explain to the american people that it was going it take a while for us to get out of this. >>or housing.

>> i think the continuing decline is something that hasn't bottomed out. >> in the first ever twitter town hall, something george washington could never have imagined, the president answered a question that he avoided in his press conference last week. whether invoking the 14th amendment and allowing him to keep on borrowing was an option. >> i don't think we should get to the issue. >> even before it got under way, republicans let by john boehner were flooding with pointed questions on jobs and broeben promises and boehner crashed the forum. >> where are the jobs? >> obviously john is the speaker of the house and he's a republican and so this is a slightly skewed question.

we have not seen fast enough job growth relative to the need. >> beyond getting to focus sharply on the message, they allowed the president to preach to an audience that skewed to younger voters. some were satisfied. >> to talk to them about the issues and the things that concern them. >> with new young voter who is were not around in 2008, rock the vote's heather smith said the president needs to get their attention. >> young people are a huge part of his success in 2008 and part of his winning formula i believe for 2012 has to be the continued engagement of young people at the polls. >> the president dealt with a whole host of topics in the town hall and what remains the big concern is getting the debt ceiling raise and that's why they will head to the white house. they can find compromise as the august 2nd deadline approaches. >> it would be nice to do it in

144 characters or less. >> highly unlikely. >> make our job easier. >> thanks so much. >> the white house wants a big deal on the deficit and the debt ceiling and towards that end, the president has been mixing public job owning with private closed door discussions, including a hush-hush meeting with the speaker of the house. white house communications chief dan pfiefer, thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> what are did the president talk about over the weekend with the house speaker? >> i will tell you about what he said with all of them over the last few days. this is an opportunity to make a difference in the deficit. we can instead of kicking the can down the road which we so often do in washington, we can seize the moment. >> that's what republicans say by the way. we get it that you think this is a huge moment, but to single out speaker baner to have secret talks with to other leaders,

there must have been a specific reason he did it. >> everyone agrees we should deal with the deficit. the questions are, are they going to be willing to make people in their own party angry. are democrats going to be willing to raise taxes on the wealthiest and corporate loopholes? the president has been able to make the tough choices and he is including all the leaders. senator reed and leader pelosi to do the same thing. >> it was to say i am willing to take off my folks if you would be willing to take off yours. speaker boehner, you need to raise taxes. is that what went on? >> what we are trying to do here is have a balanced package. that includes revenues. closing tax loopholes and dealing with taxes on the wealthiest americans and roerp occasions. every group, you have to do that. they said you have to do stuff on medicare.

they are encouraging leaders to do the same. >> in the end, this comes down essentially to president obama who has to make a deal to bring the democrats with him and speaker boehner to then reed and mcconnell are serious about. >> not a steep decline for you. >> nothing is easy. we don't take anything for granted, but when it's clear, whatever deal we are able it get past will require democrats and republicans. there will be no party line votes we have to work together. >> is there a give in the president's public position to where he is willing to go? >> he is willing to compromise. he said from the beginning and he will say it to the letters tomorrow. >> what would be the first thing that would happen? the first thing noticed if

august 2nd comes and there is no deal to increase the debt? >> you will see serious uncertainty certains in the market and the significant drops in the stock market to affect 401(k)s and increases in interest rates. the point is -- >> in other words the markets will go crazy because it's sun certain. there will be an immediate reaction and even towards the end and shown progress towards making a deal, that's why we are meeting and have to go in on this right away. >> doesn't there have to be a plan b. it's possible. you can get to august 3rd and not have the debt ceiling raised. there must be a way for you all to pay bills and take revenues you will put somewhere else that are more long-term into social security payments and medicare payments and whatever else look as though you might not be able

to pay >> the truth here is that a lot of people talking about ways in which you can avoid dealing with reality, but you can't. come august 2nd, the bill will be due. all the spending that you racked up over the years, we have to be able to pay that. the question is, some people say just pay the interest. what are we going to do then? we will pay the interest and bond holders. we will not pay social security and medicare. there is no way around reality. we have to make it so that we can pay our obligations and deal with our deficit at the same time. there is no other path to doing this. only reality. >> there is short-term paths. is the white house no matter what opposed to a short-term increase or sort of completely ignoring the debt ceiling using the constitutional argument that the 14th amendment said we can't have a debt ceiling. both of those are unacceptable?

>> untenable. every time we kick the can down the road it gets harder. no reason we should be having the same debate about the same issues 30 or 60 days from now. let's deal with it. we should do it. in terms of the constitutional argument, we don't have time to resolve that. the bills come due. we don't have time for a constitutional class. >> the secretary that brought up the possibility of the 14th amendment and saying we don't need to have an increase in the debt ceiling. i bring it up because you have to have a plan b here. what are we going to do on august 3rd to make sure we don't default on the debts which you all and the number of outside said would be terrible. >> for would be devastating, but plan a -- >> is there a plan b? >> you don't need plan b. do what every american wants to do. getting to

and deal with the deficit and make it so we can pay our obligations. >> there is back and forth with the senior white house political adviser and the romney campaign. i believe they talked about romney being a political contortionist. why even engage with mitt romney. it seems like you elevate him and you might feel the need to push back. >> journalists ask the questions and expect us to answer them. that's what happened this morning. there is a broader point here about the argument that mitt romney makes on monday and the different argument he make on tuesday. what is clear ask is this president has taken steps of the economy so we are creating jobs and we have to do more. >> shouldn't you leave that to the campaign and let the period stay in the white house and stay presidential? >> when we get presidential, we will answer them.

>> thank you so much. >> thank you, candy. >> we are getting word of progress and negotiations between the white house and the house republicans on a deal to raise the u.s. debt limit. we want to go straight to capitol hill. icate, what are you hearing? >> potentially significant development a day ahead of the big meeting between congressional leaders and the president and the vice president on these until this point stalled debt talks. we are talking about the area of tax loopholes that democrats including the president have been railing against in recent days and weeks. things like tax loopholes for jet owner or loopholes for the oil and gas industry. democrats have been calling for the loopholes to be closed to raise revenue as part of a debt deal. republicans until this point have been against that resisting that as part of any debt deals and any negotiations to raise the debt ceiling the number two house republican

eric kantor is opening the door saying she opening to talking about the certain tax loopholes if and it's an important if, if he closed the loophole in place, he cut the tax in another place. another significant potentially shift in message on the part of republicans. it should say it is unclear how many republicans share this view. they were asked about this. mitch connell did express skepticism while he was supportive of broader tax reform and said cherry picking items in terms of the context would be challenging at this point. a significant shift in message at a key time. canned he? >> they are all in the same part. not always on the same page. it sounds significant. there is movement there. thanks so much. appreciate it. >> a little girl murdered 54 years ago. now a break in the cold case thanks to a train ticket. we will explain, next.

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. >> it's a crowded pack of republican presidential candidates, but right now, mitt romney is out in front. does he need to watch his back?

we are watching the republican race for us. romney does seem to have everything going for him at this point. >> everything seems to be going his way. he feels like the front-runner and running as the front-runner. of all places, mitt romney is in london. why not? he is the front-runner where as some see it, the front-runner by default. >> good morning. how are you? >> mitt romney is shaking every hand he can. no introductions are necessary. they know their front-runner for 2012 all too well. >> that's where mitt romney is now and running a strategy as a front-runner. he is not engaging and focusing on barack obama. that's smart. >> he's not only ahead of the rivals in fund-raising pibing up $18 million, he's way out in front in the latest poll with the first primary state of new hampshire. the numbers are not so good for

candidates like jon huntsman and newt gingrich who were the unromneys. it's no surprise romney is taking some abuse from democrats who hope the governor had conflicting comments on the economy >> i didn't say things were worse. the economy has not turned around. >> what are this president has done has slowed the economy. he didn't create the recession, but he made it worse. >> worry some as the key pillars see him as a front-runner by default. the tea party activists would like to see other choices. >> my prediction is that somebody emerges to fill the vacuum. the true fiscal conservative in the race >> here doesn't fit the bill. you are waiting for a tea party savior. >> we are not waiting. we are shopping. >> not all are sold either. >> there those who see his

record when he was governor of massachusetts. he was not consistent with the platform that he ran on four years ago >> republicans note the gop has a tradition will nominating front-runners when the party thinks it's their turn. >> we're saw it with john mccain and gorge bush senior and ronald reagan. >> is that what a lot of republicans think? >> a lot of people are banking on that. >> another sign of romney's strength. the top political adviser in the white house, he called romney a world class contortionist. they responded their man would debate the president any time and anywhere. he has to win the nomination first. when i asked the campaign what about the front-runner status, what do you make of that? they don't mind if we talk about it. >> the big old target on your back. it's great to be the front-runner, but everybody is behind you.

it makes it hard. >> they are gunning for it. >> the front-runner is the best place. >> not a bad place. >> thanks so much. appreciate it. >> the murder of a little girl shatters a small town and more than 50 years later, an unexpected break in the cold case. how the world reacted to the casey anthony verdict. jeannie moos gives a closer look. ♪ [ male announcer ] what is the future of fuel? the debate is over. ♪ lexus hybrid drive technology is designed to optimize any fuel source on the planet. even those we don't use yet. because when you pursue perfection, you don't just engineer a future-proof hybrid system. you engineer amazing.

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a remarkable break in a cold case more than a half century old. a suspect has been arrested in a murder in a small town that is shocked to this day. in chicago with details, what's the story? >> the break in the case came last year when they opened books and went through it one more time. they asked an old girlfriend to go back and see if she can find a photo of her and the main suspect. she said i think i have one. she found a picture frame and that was an unused bus ticket. that led to an arrest last week. the 1957 murder of 7-year-old maria still haunts the small town of sycamore, illinois.

bill was also a 7-year-old at the time his grandfather was the police chief. >> back then, we didn't want to think about the possibility that monsters ran around b but they did. >> maria a disappearance made national news and they searched fbi was brought in. fbi director j. edgar hoover requested regular updates on the investigation. her body was found in a wooded area in another county. now, 53 years larlter, an arres. >> this is a cold case where the defendant has evaded prosecution. >> 71-year-old jack daniel mccullough a neighbor whose name was john tesier. his story he took a train the out of town that day was backed up by the family. according to the criminal complaint, his alibi crumbled after an old girlfriend recently found the train ticket that was

never used. mccullough was arrested last week at this retiree apartment complex in seattle. he he worked as a security guard at the complex. according to court documents, he had a career in law enforcement, once losing a job as a cop forl allegedly sexually assaulting a run-away girl. mccullough in his initial court appearance did not acknowledge cease the same man prosecutors say he is. they're working on extraditing him back to illinois where people will be watching the case very closely. >> there's never been closure on it it. hopefully now with the trial we'll get closure on it. >> a fresh rose sits on her headstone in sycamore. people have been visiting her grave now that her murder, which is part of this small town's mystery, may finally be solved. candy, there was a hearing this afternoon in seattle. mccullough waived his right to appear. nothing was decided in that

hearing. his next hearing is the 20th of this month. candy. >> wow. ted rollins, what a story. thanks very much. time to check back with jack cafferty. >> pretty amaze stuff. >> the question this hour would you want to live 150 years old or older? the british scientist says the first person to live to 150 has been born. paul in ontario says no, i would not. if we live twice as long the pressure on the eco-system would collapse the planet. cliff in regal park writes that would give us 81 more years in the cafferty file. need to give this a little more thought. paul in arizona writing, wow, that would really screw up medicare and social security. gary in arizona, jack, 75 i'm halfway there. i have no interest in living to be 150. there are over 6 billion people on the planet at the moment, and in many parts of the world it's a mob scene. i'll take another decade and depart with fond memories and a

smile. anthony in new jersey writing, why not. tortoises do. i'm living with an african gray parrot that will outlive my son. give me a roomie cage, have someone feed me and clean any cage and i'll be happy as a clam. mark writes that depends. at what age would the senior discount at mcdonald's kick in? ed in pennsylvania. my only reason was is to dance at my great-granddaughter's wedding. bill in new mexico says yes, i think life is that enjoyable. if i thought i would live that long, i would have spent a few more years in college and gotten another degree or two in something else. what would we do about this retiring at 65 years of age, and will our minds keep up? bob in youngstown, ohio writes, you only have 49 more years to go, jack. tell us if it's worth it so far. i bet if you were turning 149 the answer would be yes. if you want to read more on this, we have funny e-mails, go

to the blog. candy. >> those were great. i love those today. your guys should go into sta standup. >> xexcept for the guy that sai i have 49 years to go. i don't like him at all. nasty. >> i'll write him back for you. thanks, jack. for our north american viewers, john king usa starting at the top of the hour, and up next jeanne moos looks at reaction about the casey anthony verdict. introducing the schwab mobile app.

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unlike fish oil, megared softgels are small and easy to swallow with no fishy smell or aftertaste. try megared today. did it seems everyone had a reaction. >> it only took two words to get a smile of casey anthony, but not guilty was not music to everyone's ears, from nancy grace. >> the devil is dancing tonight. >> to the cartoonist who portrayed casey anthony putting duct tape around the eyes of lady justice. >> what is your reaction, geraldo? >> oh, my god. >> the verdict had members of the fox news family momentarily at each other's throats. >> this was a good mother. you see the video.

>> oh, bull. this is so much bull i can't stand it. >> and this. >> not guilty. >> took many back to this. >> not guilty of the crime of murder. >> we've been o.j.ed. this is the worst thing to happen to florida since the hangin hangings. >> you might expect the defendant to cry when the verdict came down, but you probably wouldn't expect a talk show host to choke up. >> the verdict in the casey anthony -- >> you okay? >> help me out here. >> if you think human hosts were shocked -- >> a stunning blow. >> man how the animal kingdom reacted to the casey anthony verdict from dogs to giraffes to apes to alpacas. though jay leno tried a couple of casey anthony jokes, jay learned a murder trial joke can bomb like a closing argument. >> not guilty. you know what this means? this means president obama's economic team is the second most

clueless people in america. that's what it means. is the mike on? i don't think they heard the joke. >> some folks shocked themselves reacting to the verdict as it was handed down. >> here we go. >> oh, here we go. >> parking themselves in front of their tvs and posting their reactions on youtube, so tense they chewed on remotes. >> oh, my god. >> took breaths as if as a lamaze class, critiquing the defendant's look. >> first degree eye shadow. >> there was something creepy about watching the verdict with a toddler. these viewers made nancy grace seem zen. >> we find the defendant not guilty. >> oh! what? what? >> we find the defendant not guilty. >> damn it. >> leave it to your toddler to lay down the law. jeanne moos,